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According to the latest research in the' United States of America, men and women talk such different languages that it is like people from two different cultures trying to communicate. Professor Deborah Tannen of Georgetown University, has noticed the difference in the style of boy's and girl's conversations from an early age. She says that little girls' conversation is less definite than boys' and expresses more doubts. Little boys use conversation to establish status with their listeners.
These differences continue into adult life, she says. In public conversations, men talk most and interrupt other speakers more. In private conversations, men and women speak in equal amounts—although they say things in a different style. Professor Tannen believes that, for woman, private talking is a way to establish and test intimacy. For men, private talking is a way to explore the power structure of a relationship.
Teaching is one job where the differences between men's and women's ways of talking show. When a man teaches a woman, says Professor Tannen, he wants to show that he has more knowledge, and hence more power in conversation. When a woman teaches another woman, however, she is more likely to take a sharing approach and to encourage her student to join in.
But Professor Tannen does not believe that women are naturally more helpful. She says women feel they achieve power by being able to help others. Although the research suggests men talk and interrupt people more than women, Professor Tannen says, women actually encourage this to happen because they believe it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship.
Some scientists who are studying speech think that the brain is pre¬programmed for language. As we are usually taught to speak by women, it seems likely that the brain must have a sexual bias(倾向性) in its programming,
otherwise male speech patterns would not arise at all.
1. In the opinion of the writer, women encourage men to talk because
A. it will lead to more intimacy and help to establish a relationship
B. it will help to establish status with their listeners
C. it will help to express more clearly
D. it will help to communicate better
2. There are_______in little girls' conversation than in boys'.
A. fewer doubts B. more demands
C. more doubts D. fewer uncertainties
3. Some scientists believe that brain is pre-programmed for language. The word "pre programmed" means_______.
A. programmed already B. programmed before one is born
C. programmed early D. programmed by women
4. In private conversation, women speak
A. the same things as men B. less than men
C. more than men D. as much as men
5. The theme of this article is _______.
A. women are naturally more helpful
B. men and women talk different languages
C. men talk most and interrupt other speakers more
D. little girls' conversation is less definite
In the last two hundred years there have been great changes in the method of production of goods. This is now also true of the building industry; for mechanization has been introduced. System building can save both time and money. The principle of system building is that the building is made from a set of standard units. These are either made at the building-site or at a factory. Some designers, in fact, are standardizing the dimensions of rooms. They are made in multiples of a single fixed length, usually ten centimeters. This is called a modular (原则件旳) system, and it means that manufactures can produce standardized fittings at a lower cost. The most important fact about system building is its speed. A ten-storey flat, for example, can be completed in four months.
There are several new methods of system building. One is the panel method. In this case, the construction company sometimes erects a factory on the site. The walls and floors of the building, called panels, are cast in a horizontal or vertical position. Conduits for electrical wires and sleeves for pipes are cast in the panels when they are being made. The moulds for making these castings are situated all around the building.
After the concrete panels are cast, they are allowed to set and harden for a week. Next they are lifted by a tower crane on to any section of the building. There the panels are cemented together at their joints and the floor covering is laid.
After the panels have been cemented together, the crane lifts a case into the area. It contains all the fittings to be installed, such as wash-basins, radiators and pipes. Finishing tradesmen, such as plumbers, plasterers, painters and electricians, follow behind to complete the work.
In some building developments, in some countries, whole flats with internal features like their bathrooms, bedrooms and connecting stairs, and weighing as much as twenty tons, are carried to the building-site ready-made. A giant overhead crane is used to lift them into position. In the future, this method may become more widespread.
1. The main difference between panel method and the method discussed in the last paragraph is_______.
A. the latter uses ready-made internal features
B. panels are cast in a level position
C. the former is used to build walls and floors while the latter to construct bathrooms or bedrooms
D. the former is more expensive than the latter
2. Which of these statements is TRUE of system building?
A. It employs more men. B. It is difficult and dangerous.
C. It can save both time and money. D. It means less mechanization.
3. According to the passage, the principle of system building is that_______.
A. construction methods are safer
B. buildings are made from a set of standardized units
C. similar buildings can be produced
D. all units are produced on the site
4. The usual fixed length in the modular system is_______.
A. twenty centimeters B. ten millimeters
C. fifty centimeters D. ten centimeters
5. What lifts the concrete panels onto the building?
A. Cranes. B. Man-power.
C. Pulleys. D. Hydraulic jacks.
1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. B 1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. A
The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces. A country's standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth. "Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy: "goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment.
A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another. Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on. Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess perhaps only one of these things, and some regions possess none of them. The U. S. A is one of the wealthiest regions of the world because she has vast natural resources within her borders, her soil is fertile, and her climate is varied. The Sahara Desert, on the other hand, is one of the least wealthy.
Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use. China is perhaps as well off as the U. S. A. in natural resources, but suffered for many years from civil and external wars, and for this and other reasons was. unable to develop her resources. Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered. Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people. Old countries that have, through many centuries, trained up numerous skilled craftsmen and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled. Wealth also produces wealth. As a country becomes wealthier, its people have a large margin for saving, and can put their savings into factories and machines which will help workers to turn out more goods in their working day.
1. A country's wealth depends upon______. ,
A. its standard of living
B. its money
C. its ability to provide goods and services
D. its ability to provide transport and entertainment
2. The word "foremost" means______.
A. most importantly B. firstly
C. largely D. for the most part
3. The main idea of the second paragraph is that______.
A. a country's wealth depends on many factors
B. the U. S. A. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world
C. the Sahara Desert is a very poor region
D. natural resources are an important factor in the wealth or poverty of a country
4. The third paragraph mentions some of the advantages which one country may have over another in making use of its resources. How many such advantages are mentioned in this paragraph?
A. 2 B. 3
C. 4 D. 5
5. The second sentence.in Paragraph 3 is______.
A. the main idea of the paragraph
B. an example supporting the main idea of the paragraph
C. the conclusion of the paragraph
D. not related to the paragraph
The productivity of Americans employed in private businesses has declined. The productivity of workers in countries such as Japan and Germany is increasing. American machine tools, on average, are old, relatively inefficient, and rapidly becoming obsolete, whereas those of our competitors overseas, in comparison, are newer and more efficient. We are no longer the most productive workers in the world. We are no longer the leaders in industrial innovation (革新). We are an immensely
wealthy nation of educated men and women who seem to have lost sight of the fact that everything—from the simplest necessities to the finest luxuries—must be produced through our own collective hard work. We have come to expect automatic increases in our collective standard of living, but we seem to have forgotten that these increases are possible only when our productivity continues to grow.
One thing that must change is the rate at which we substitute capital equipment for human labor. Simply put, our labor force has increased at a far greater rate than has our stock of capital investment. We seem to have forgotten that our past productivity gains, to a large extent, were realized from substitutions of capital for human labor. Today, 3 times as many robots are listed as capital assets by Japanese firms as by United States firms.
There is no doubt that robots will become a common sight in American factories. Representing a new generation of technology, robots will replace factory labor much as the farm tractor replaced the horse. Robot technology has much to offer. It offers higher levels of productivity and quality at lower costs; in promises to free men and women from the dull, repetitious toil of the factory, it is likely to have an impact on society comparable to that made by the growth of computer technology.
1. The word "obsolete"(Para. 1) most probably means_______.
A. weak B. old
C. new D. out of date
2. The author is anxious about_______.
A. his people no longer taking the lead in industrial innovation
B. his country no longer being a wealthy nation
C. his people forgetting to raise their productivity
D. his country falling behind other industrial nations
3. According to the author, in his country_______..
A. the proportion of labor force to capital investment is quite low
B. the growth rate of labor force should be greater than that of capital investment
C. the productivity increases should be achieved by the increases of labor force
D. capital investment should have increased more rapidly than labor force
4. So far as the influence on society is concerned, _______.
A. robot technology seems to be much more promising than computer technology
B. computer technology has less to offer than robot technology
C. robot technology can be compared with computer technology
D. robot technology cannot be compared with computer technology
5. The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to show that_______.
A. robots will help increase labor productivity
B. robots will rule American factories
C. robots are cheaper than human laborers
D. robots will finally replace humans in factories
1. C 2. A 3. A 4. B 5. B 1. D 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. A
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